That's The Way It Happens
by JiminyBillyBob
Summary: In which we learn about 'Ichi-nii and that Rukia lady' from Karin's and Yuzu's sister talk. IchiRuki. AU.
1. Chapter 1: Yuzu and Karin

**A/N**: Hi! It has been a really long time since I updated something. Anyway, I found this piece of story when I was about to clean my phone and then I thought it's going to be a waste if I just deleted it and never posted it hahaha. Anyway, I am a huge fan of Rukia and I just really really adore her so maybe this is why I wrote this story back then. This is an AU story and the story is really light, so, I don't know if people are going to like it or not :D

Enjoy reading :D

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"Ichi-nii has lost his mind, hasn't he?" Karin has said this for the 5th time in 5 minutes, her eyes are still glued to her iPhone. Multiple tabs of google searches stare back at her.

_Kuchiki Rukia, 28, is the heiress of Kuchiki Family, the richest family in Japan with an estimated net worth of US$24.9 billion._

"Are you sure this is the one?" Karin sneers at her twin sister.

Yuzu nods sternly. "I saw her with my own eyes, Karin-chan."

"Through the CCTV monitor." Karin mumbles and corrects her. The tomboy runs her fingers through her dark folks, a little frustrated. "You saw this Kuchiki something lady made out with Ichi-nii in his living room from the CCTV monitor."

Yuzu glares at her twin. "Don't make it sound like that, will you? I was just hiding in his apartment to surprise Onii-chan at midnight for his birthday." The brown haired girl argues back.

"Thus you hid in that small room, next to his living room, in which he kept his CCTV monitor." Karin rolls her eyes. It is not like Yuzu to put herself in a silly sitution like that.

Yuzu nods again, aware of the subtle sneers Karin keeps sending her way. "That room has a comfortable chair. And a plug in to charge my phone." Karin is still going on with her eye-rolls. "And it is the room that he's least likely to go into if it is not necessary."

"I am not making things up, Karin-chan! Onii-chan is seriously dating this lady!" She points at a photo of a beautiful woman (Karin does not give compliments easily, but, this Kuchiki heiress something has the most captivating eyes, completed by really pale and fair skin, and, yeah, Karin has to admit that she is more beautiful than any other women she knows in her life), dressed in a grey turtle neck layered by high end maroon blazer on her Wikipedia page. She seems to be giving some kind of speech in a podium where Karin and Yuzu can read vaguely bold letters of _"Together for Women in Africa" _on the backdrop.

"But how can you be so sure that it was her?" The tomboy nudges Yuzu on the elbow. "I mean..." she is at loss for words. _Ichi-nii can't be dating this lady._

Yuzu lets out an exasperated sigh. "Do you want me to go over it _again?_ I told you, I heard Onii-chan call her Rukia and I-"

"And you went straight all detectives on Ichi-nii's instagram's followers and you found her." Karin replies. "And her instagram account is _rukia_, as in Rukia K. She doesn't even name her account Kuchiki." Karin holds up her phone at her twin's face, showing Yuzu a private Instagram profile with only 38 posts, 124 followers, and 69 following. Her profile picture is a candid photo of a beautiful lady with flushed cheeks and pink lips. She has pale skin in contrasted to her jet black hair. Her face is illuminated by the orange, yellow sun lights and she is wearing a scarf around her neck. Yuzu and Karin also notice that there is the famous golden gate bridge in the background.

"I am one hundred percents sure, they're the same person." Yuzu zooms in the photo of the Wikipedia page on her phone and compares it to the Instagram profile on her twin's. "See? She really, really, looks alike with the lady on Wikipedia."

Karin wants to disagree. She wants to contradict this Yuzu, who seems kind of delusional with the idea of _'It's happening! I'm going to plan for Onii-chan's wedding!'_ in her head. But certainly not their brother's wedding with some this billionaire heiress? Isn't it going to be troublesome and too much? Karin must admit that their family is pretty much loaded themselves, with their father being one of the most respected pediatrician in this relatively small town, Karakura, and Karin pretty much knows her brother also makes loads, but.

Really? A Kuchiki heiress, of all people? Isn't this too much? The tomboy currently goes to one of the most prestigious law schools in Japan. She does know a lot of snobby rich girls that were born with silver spoons on their mouths, and Karin does not like them. She does not want to be judgmental, but Karin must admit she is no saint, and she thinks those girls are annoying. They mostly only think about throwing ridiculously posh parties, and expensive dresses, and insanely overpriced million dollars make up, and lips fillers and nose job or boob job and ass job they actually do not need, and they're mostly obsessed to be the next Kardashians on Instagram. God, Karin _does not_ get along with them.

"She is so pretty, Karin-chan!" Yuzu says adoringly.

Karin silently agrees with her twin. This Kuchiki Rukia represents very much of what Karin always thinks a natural beauty is.

Yuzu, the brown haired girl, snatches the phone away from her twin. "And guess who resides permanently in the USA?" she starts again, fingers busy tumbling on her twin's iPhone. "This Kuchiki Rukia lady!" Yuzu says again, and starts reading loudly, "Kuchiki Rukia currently lives in apartment in San Fransisco. The Kuchiki family is also reported to have bought a home near Silicon Valley in Woodside, California that cost the family $112 million."

Karin squints her eyes. She can totally understand Yuzu's excitement to having found out that her dearest Onii-chan is having a relationship (an affair?) With someone when all she has been doing for the last 10 years is nudging him with _'I can't wait to plan your wedding, Onii-chan! Look at all these beautiful roses and lillies! And the wedding cake! And oh my God, this dress looks so beautiful!'._

But, thinking that her Ichi-nii, who really looks like he doesn't give a care in the world about anything, walks nonchalantly with lazy scowls on his face, and thinks everything is troublesome, would date a heiress from the richest family in Japan does not really add up.

Yuzu starts again, Karin swears she can actually see her jumping around, "and guess who spent one full year, taking a fellowship in California last year?" Yuzu's eyes glint with excitement.

"Well, Ichi-nii did." Karin takes a deep breath. "Took a fellowship in Stanford."

Yuzu nods repeatedly. "And Karin-chan, I swear I accidentally heard-,"

Karin snorts. "You eavesdropped, you mean."

"No! Well, yes, well," Yuzu fidgets on her feet. "It is not like I had a choice not to hear it, they were basically talking while _cuddling_ on the couch in the living room, who just happens to be separated only with thin walls in the CCTV room." Yuzu does not like the way Karin makes her feel bad about what she did. "And... it is not like I knew Onii-chan planned on having a visitor. I was just going along with my perfect birthday surprise plan. I baked a cake, Karin-chan! And I needed a place to hide... and I-,"

Karin snorts for God know show many times that day. "First of all, Ichi-nii does NOT cuddle. And second of all, get to the point, Yuzu, what did you hear?"

"Onii-chan asked her to stay a bit longer." Yuzu tells Karin, eyes start looking sad for no apparent reason. "Rukia-neechan said,"

"Oh, now she is Rukia-neechan?" Karin hums and rolls her eyes.

"Stop being rude and cutting off my story, Karin-chan." Yuzu frowns and pats her twin lightly on the arm. "Rukia-neechan said that her flight was tomorrow morning and Onii-chan asked her to stay. With him. He said he would introduce her to our family in his birthday dinner today. He asked her to stay in Japan."

"Are you sure this is not just some cliche drama you made up in your head, Yuzu?" Karin tries to say in in the most gentle voice she has.

Yuzu shakes her head, decides to let go of her twin's rude replies all this time. "And guess what Rukia-neechan said? She said she would be thrilled to meet our family. She said, in these exact same words that, she really wanted to meet '_Sweet Yuzu who makes the best onigiri your life' and 'Cool Karin who is the only normal one in your family'._" Karin swears she can see the happy tears coming out of her dramatic twin. "She knows us, Karin-chan! _She knows us!_"

"Yuzu, pull yourself together, alright? Or I am done listening to your rambling." Karin feels bad, but she just has to do it. Yuzu needs some control.

"Sorry," Yuzu giggles. "Then Rukia-neechan said that she couldn't just cancel her flight, you know? But she wanted to meet us, really, to have our annual Kurosaki birthday dinner. She was sorry that she had to leave."

"She sounds nice enough," Karin mumbles. Yuzu may like someone instantly, but Karin decides it will take a lot more efforts to win her trust.

"Then Onii-chan said he was not only asking her to stay a bit longer. He was asking her to stay with him. Onii-chan asked her to move in with him. Karin-chan, this is _huge_!" Yuzu squeals.

"Just how long have they been dating, exactly? And how did Ichi-nii know her? California is not like Karakura, Yuzu. It is huge." Karin can't even believe that she is entertaining Yuzu with her ideas. Even though, deep down, Karin knows everything just too much to be a coincidence.

"I did my research." Yuzu smiles, her brown eyes glint with joy. "Remember when Onii-chan represented his hospital to cure the sick children in Somalia for a year?"

Karin nods. "Yeah." She tries to recall things. "That's a year before he took a fellowship in Stanford." Karin chuckles, "a young, renowned pediatrician who did volunteer work in Africa. Goat-chin was in cloud nines."

Yuzu smiles back. "Okay, here's the thing, Karin-chan." Karin can't even decide if she likes this Detective Yuzu or stalker Yuzu. "You know that Seireitei Hospital Onii-chan is working at? It is owned by the Kuchiki. Founded by this..." Yuzu starts typing on Google search and shows Karin an old antique photo of an old man named Kuchiki Ginrei.

"..this man. And..." Yuzu begins again. "The head and owner of that hospital just happens to be an obstetrician named Byakuya, the heir and now the head of the Kuchiki family," Yuzu holds up her phone to show a google image of a classy man with what must be designer suit with long and black slick hair. "Who also happens to be..."

Karin raises an eyebrow, somehow is aware of where this is leading to. "Rukia-neechan's one and only older brother!" Yuzu says in a hushed whisper to add a dramatic effect of the story.

Karin pinches the bridge of her nose. "Alright, _go on._"

"And if only we paid more attention to Onii-chan's instagram posts, we would have known something, Karin-chan." Yuzu's eyes widen for the dramatic effect like in Sci-Fi's movies.

"What posts? Ichi-nii can't_ instagram_ to save his life. He's got only like 15 posts in 4 years and he only follows like 15 people and has only 34 followers! And yeah, I just used instagram as a verb and you have no right to give me that look!" Karin is on a rant.

Yuzu giggles. "That's why I told you we should have paid attention to details, Karin-chan!" Yuzu begins scrolling around her brother's Instagram page. "He only follows 17 people in total. And this rukia is one of them. And then, look at this group photo of him with the medical team and others in Somalia."

It is a photo of their brother and his volunteers team. The orange haired doctor is wearing a medical safari vest. They are posing with bunch of Somalian girl teenagers with what look like to be medical camps in the background. What catches the twins' attention this time is a woman in the middle of the Somalian teenagers. The teenagers appear to hug that petite woman and they are all laughing prettily. Said woman is wearing safari hat, round glasses, and her face is bare with no make up, and she has that familiar jet black hair framing the pale white tiny face. And also, Karin specifically notices, those blue-purple something huge eyes. Their beloved brother is standing in the right side, next to the Somalian teenagers.

"No way." Karin's eyes go huge. "So, they met in Somalia?"

Yuzu can't contain her giggles. "Isn't it adorable? And guess what I found on Rukia-nee's Wikipedia page? She is the head of Kuchiki Foundation. She may have a business degree and has her share in that big corporate family business, but she is mostly only active in this foundation! She is an humanitarian activist who does all these amazing charities and volunteer works around the world, but mostly in Africa and other developing countries. I think she is just this truly amazing woman that loves to help people. She is so down to earth, Karin-chan!"

Karin can't help but to agree. She has skimmed through the google images search of the Kuchiki heiress. To be probably the richest bachelorette in Japan, we can expect images of luxurious lifestyle to come out on the page, something that we easily find on most snobby rich ladies' Instagram who are trying too hard to be what so-called _social influencers_, when deep down Karin thinks most of them are just for shows. Karin doesn't find those super model wannabes vibes from this Rukia lady. Instead, there are bunch of images of the Kuchiki heiress doing volunteer works, images of her with kids in the needs, young-mothers in various countries in underdeveloped countries. She is mostly doing charities to support women and kids in need. And there is this news of the Kuchiki Foundation getting an appreciation award from the UNICEF. Karin wants to be skeptical about this Kuchiki heiress, wants to think that if, indeed, her brother is dating her (or having an affair with her), it is going to bring trouble to her brother and the family. Karin loves normalcy and she slightly hopes to find the Kuchiki heiress annoying, but all these images keep proving her wrong. She really does seem down to earth.

Karin always thinks her brother is bad at romance. She still can't reason why he won't give Inoue-san, their lovely neighbor slash his ex-girlfriend who works as an artist, another chance when she is obviously still in love with him. And Inoue-san is really beautiful and as sweet as a maiden and makes men want to protect her all the time. They were dating briefly in high school. Ichi-nii never tells them why they broke up, although Tatsuki-neesan almost let it slip that it had something to do with Inoue-san and a guy named Ulquiorra-something. Yuzu and Karin never believed that Inoue-san would cheat on their brother, but, they did witness the auburn haired woman cried for like hours in front of their clinic and their brother only stood there, hands in his football outfit pockets, hair messy after football practice, and coolly told her that _'I understand and I am not mad at you, I am mad at him' _and the final '_I think we're better off as friends'._

Karin and Yuzu were pretty bummed out by their break up. Yuzu cried for her loss of cooking partner and their brother told them Inoue-san would still be around since they choose to remain friends. Karin was not being so nice and she used to tell her brother that, '_you'll never impress me until you bring someone in the same levels to Inoue-san to our home again, Ichi-nii.'_

And then 5 years later, her brother is breaking that levels bullshit. Kuchiki Rukia is on another whole level. And Karin has just to be impressed with her brother.

"You may think that she may be out of Onii-chan's league," Yuzu laughs a little, as if she could read Karin's thoughts. "But, let's not understate our brother, okay, Karin-chan. He, too, comes from a good family and he is super smart, and a successful and young pediatrician who is about to take doctoral degree at such a young age. And we may not notice it since we are his sisters, but Onii-chan is really, really handsome and charismatic." Yuzu grins sweetly.

Karin laughs. "Hell yeah. He probably wins her over with that bad boy persona on the outside, but turns out to be an embarrassingly huge dork inside."

Yuzu sighs dreamily. "I am so happy for him, but, I can't believe we did not know that he has been seeing someone all this time! Look at his first post, this photo of him and Sado-san back when they were in college, backpacking all around America?"

Yuzu points a photo of younger version of their brother. It is a photo of a handsome young, orange haired man wearing a red maroon t-shirt. A climbers' backpack is slung on his right arm. He is wearing blue _adidas_ running shoes and khaki pants. The said young man smirks at the camera and an old man who looks like Mexican, 72 or 73 years old is sitting on the wheel chair next to him. On the left of the old man, a young dark skinned man with curly brown hair smiles a little at the camera. This young Mexican man is huge, compared to men his age. It is a photo of Yuzu's and Karin's brother with his best friend, Sado-san, and Sado-san's abuelo.

And it looks like this _rukia_ also leaves something on the comment section, but it is an old post, so the Kuchiki heir must scroll to the bottom page for this. The comment says,

**rukia:** _why can't we have this athletic Ichi these days?_

**abarai.r:** _no way? Isnt he still fit now? O wait no. This is the guy who was panting after only 1 lap at central park? And dude u r certainly getting fat_

**rukia:** _He's not getting fat **abarai.r**_

**abarai.r:** _yeah you would know wouldnt you rukia_

**rukia:** _abarai.r :O_

**ichigo_kurosaki: **_I __will be back in form if you just let me go hiking with Chado. He's going to Himalaya, _**_rukia_**

**rukia **yup**, **then, no. Chubby Ichigo is fine too

**abarai.r:** _**ichigo_kurosaki** why do you NEVER reply other people's comments but hers? Whipped basterd_

**rukia:** _**abarai.r** shut up renji :3 :3_

Karin chuckles. "Well, it is an old post, so of course we didn't notice. I don't regularly check Ichi-nii's posts' comments, anyway."

"Onii-chan is so cute." Yuzu giggles. "It is true. He always replies to Rukia-nee's comments but he really never replies others."

Karin smirks, "Heh. I won't be surprised if we open this Kuchiki Rukia's instagram page and find that Ichi-nii likes all her photos. He is one of those, Yuzu." Karin says with an emphasis on the word those.

"Those?" Yuzu raises an eyebrow questioningly.

The older twin snorts. "Those whipped bastards."

Yuzu laughs, somewhat knowing that it may as well be true. The brown haired twin starts scrolling on her brother's Instagram page again. "We really didn't pay attention to his posts, did we? Last year, when he was in USA, he posted a photo of him and this cute dog, and since he sucks at _instagramming_, he did not put any caption on that photo hence we did not think this post had any meaning, like, _'Oh, so, Onii-chan just posed with random cute dog and posted it on his instagram!_'." Yuzu takes a breath. This one is going to be long.

There is a subtle ";)" from _rukia_ on his comment section. "A wink!" Yuzu beams. And also another comment from _abarai.r_ _"god that cute ball of fur stinks. Tell rukia to wash him."_, which their brother doesn't reply. But the orange haired man replies the ";)" with, _"i think he finally starts to like me?"_, and _rukia_ only replies with,_ "Kon never hated you. He is just jealous since his favorite person spends too much time with you :O"._

"They're so cute!" Yuzu laughs again. "But, really. Look at the details, Karin-chan! This," Yuzu's eyes become so big that they start to scare her twin sister, "this is Onii-chan's messy hair in the morning. This is his bed head. This is what he looks like when he has just jumped out of bed."

Karin zooms in the picture and she just has to agree that her twin sister is right. Her brother is one of those people who are graced by good looks even when they are just out of bed, but Karin is all too familiar with this spiky bed hair. And to confirm the twins' speculation, he is also wearing a white t-shirt and pajama pants. That really is how he looks like when he goes to bed. It is a candid photo of his brother ruffling and holding a cute little dog who appears to be a _pomeranian._

"It is a candid photo, meaning someone else took this photo, in what seems to be a bedroom, (_pay attention to details, Karin-chan, details!_), in the early morning, meaning someone was staying the night or Onii-chan was staying over at someone's. _But_..." Yuzu adds a dramatic pause and something clicks in Karin's mind.

"But, we _have been_ in his apartment in San Fransisco and it _doesn't_ look like in that photo!" Karin is also surprised that she starts going along with Yuzu.

Yuzu laughs a little, glad her twin is finally playing along.

Karin chuckles lowly. "God, I know it is not supposed to be at all strange, since he is a grownup or whatsoever, but he has never brought a girl home for like forever." Karin scratches her chin. "It's weird. Ichi-nii is actually sleeping with someone. God, Yuzu, why is it weird?"

Yuzu blushes deeply, "It's probably weird because you state it loudly like that."

Karin rolls her eyes and pokes her twin lightly on the forehead. "Yuzu, we are grown ups, too, alright. You _can't_ possibly think they're not at this stage of relationship already."

Yuzu blushes even redder, somewhat annoyed that her twin always makes her to be the innocent little girl when they are clearly the same age. "Well, Rukia-nee did stay at his apartment until early morning today and Onii-chan has asked her to move in already..."

"But, still..." Karin mumbles again. "It's Ichi-nii. It's _weird_."

Yuzu hums. "It's our brother, Karin-chan. It's always going to be weird."

"I mean, there was Inoue-san in high school, but they dated for like only 4 months and Ichi-nii was only 15, and he was pretty much too focused in his football captaincy crap. I don't think they did _it_." Karin starts again and Yuzu gives her twin _the_ look.

"And then there was that crazy Senna back in freshman who pretty sure traumatized him when he caught her sleeping with another _girl_ in _his_ dorm. And why the hell did she get crazily possessive with Ichi-nii when actually she was the one who was fooling around with another girl and boy behind his back? And sleeping in his dorm, out of all places." Karin laughs. "And that Senna girl had the audacity to humiliate Ichi-nii, saying things like '_she was just being a normal, hormonal curious young adolescent who wanted to look for adventures since it turned out the famous and hot football captain was actually a boring goody two shoes!_'" she can't contain her chuckles. "God, Yuzu, Ichi-nii is terrible at relationships. His friends wouldn't shut up about him being cheated on _twice_ in his life. And since then, for years, Ichi-nii has never, ever brought anyone home again. Goat-chin is actually worried Ichi-nii turns gay and he will never have grandchildren."

"Poor Onii-chan." Yuzu looks saddened. "So, that's maybe why he is keeping his relationship in private now. And I am pretty sure this one is different, Karin-chan! He asked her to move in with him! They must be on another level of relationship."

"Yeah, yeah." Karin teases. "I know you're just giddy to plan for his wedding already."

"Yup." Yuzu sings and hums the famous wedding chorus. She can't believe that it's actually going to happen, sooner or later. Yuzu has dreamed to plan the perfect wedding for her brother. It's going to be a beautiful wedding party with beautiful sunset, and beaches, and beautiful dress and delicious food, and beautiful songs and dances. But since her brother keeps having bad luck with his romance and never introduces anyone to the family again, Yuzu's worried her dream is not going to happen, ever.

Yuzu doesn't mind if her Onii-chan wants to take some time before introducing this Rukia-nee to the family, but when he does, and Yuzu hopes it's going to happen any time soon, she's almost sure she will welcome Rukia-nee happily (and probably she is going introduce her to her famous onigiri). For now, Yuzu doesn't really care if her birthday surprise plan for her brother was ruined, that she had to be stuck hiding in her brother's apartment until morning to escape, she thinks it was all worth it.

She just can't wait to meet her soon.

* * *

**AN:** Alright, that's it hahaha. I know the story has barely plot in it but I just wanted to write this to _fangirl_ over Rukia (because I love Rukia and I can totally see her as this smart, elegant, super beautiful, and rich but really kind woman who doesn't know how to spend her money, so she will just give them to charity. She probably has tea party with other rich billionaires to raise money for charity hahaha XD).

Just in case people don't get it, Yuzu planned to hide in his brother's apartment until midnight to surprise him with confetti and a cake at midnight. Ichi lives alone in his apartment (Yuzu knows his key passcode) and he installs some CCTV in it, and there is this small room (next to his living room) in which there is a monitor for his CCTV, and Ichigo barely goes to that room, so Yuzu decided to hide in there until midnight, but then... it turns out her brother had an unexpected visitor that Yuzu had never seen in her life before *wink* ;).

And anyway, Ichi is a protegee pediatrician. He works in a hospital owned by Kuchiki family and the hospital sent doctors and healthcare professionals to do volunteer works in a medical camp in Africa for a year (which is funded and managed by Kuchiki foundation) and that's when Rukia and Ichi meet *laughs* and right after that one year in Africa, Ichi is awarded a fellowship for a year in Stanford by the hospital and Rukia lives in California too (are you sure this is not Byakuya pulling strings and playing matchmaker?!) so I guess the romance continues smoothly there hahaha. After the fellowship, Ichi has to go back to Japan, so maybe the two have long distance relationship. Oh, yeah and for another detail that is not mentioned in the story, Renji is Rukia's best friend and he's Rukia's right hand for the Kuchiki family company main branch in the USA (just let Rukia have her tea parties to raise money XD) oh, and Renji lives in the US, too, and he meets Ichigo there.

Anyway, I also found some other stories on my phone and I will try to post them online too when I have the chance (thought about sending them to the bins but, well.)

Take care! :)

(NB: SERIOUS QUESTION! Do you think I should continue this story and make it multi chaptered? Please tell me in the reviews :D)


	2. Chapter 2: Isshin

**A/N:** Hey, guys, I am sorry if this takes so long! Anyway, this is chapter two and I basically just write everything that pops up in my mind and I hope it makes sense hehehe. Sorry for the long chapter, since I just can't stop when it concerns, you know, ahem, Isshin.

Warning: I am a HUGE fan of Rukia and I can get creative with giving compliments and praises for her in my story. SO, this story is dedicated to all fans of our beautiful queen. An appreciation AU fic for Rukia.

I hope you all enjoy this :D

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The very first time Isshin hears about it, it is in his precious afternoon coffee time with his two best friends.

"A Kuchiki." Isshin can't hold his chuckle. All the while he contemplates the irony of it all, but an amused grin is painted on his face.

Yoruichi smirks at the way her friend's lips quirk up so quickly. "Not only a mere Kuchiki, she is literally The Kuchiki." Yoruichi pauses. "Kuchiki Ginrei's golden granddaughter. Byakuya-boo's dearest little sister. Your son seriously has some guts."

Isshin really can't hold his grin. It is probably the most interesting news he has ever heard from the last recent years of his dull life. "I can't believe my son has it in him." Isshin laughs and Yoruichi chuckles. "I have been teasing him for being single for years and he never has a say about it. Annoyed, yes, but he never ever lets it slip that he has been keeping a Kuchiki to himself for a year."

Isshin takes a sip of his black coffee, all the while looking closely at a photo of a dark haired young lady sitting in a cafe across from his orange haired son. Rukia was pictured listening closely to whatever his son talked about, her eye-catching, big, violet eyes focused solely on Ichigo's. Her slim legs were crossed elegantly under the table. Across from her, Ichigo appeared sitting in a relaxed manner, his back leaned lazily on the seat, his long legs straightened out. The two were sitting outside a cafe in San Fransisco. Isshin swipes left and sees the second picture. It is a candid photo from behind. The two were placing their orders on the cafe counter. Ichigo was wearing a white t-shirt, khaki pants, and blue adidas shoes and Rukia was wearing a simple blue sundress that reached her knees completed by blue flat shoes. Ichigo was standing too closely behind her, it almost looks like she was trapped between his arms and the counter. Rukia's face turned at him, supposedly discussing about their order, and his son bent his head to her levels. Even Isshin can tell their height difference makes them more adorable.

Kisuke Urahara joins Isshin looking at these photos and says, "My, my, my. Little Rukia-chan has grown up well. Kurosaki men sure do have the best standard in girls?"

Isshin laughs again, slightly reminisced of his late beautiful wife. He really enjoys this coffee time with his friends this time. "Of course, we do." He lights up a cigarette. "How is Rukia-chan now? I once met her when she was only 5 at the Shihouin Gala years ago. Cute little princess, kept following Kaien around like a little puppy." The senior pediatrician adds.

Yoruichi smiles. "A beautiful young noble lady with kind heart who helps a lot of people in need - not at all spoiled princesses like most noble ladies are." The Shihouin lady winks and pokes Isshin a little. "Ichi really wins a prize here."

"Rukia is Kuchiki Ginrei's favorite despite her adoptive status. The other Kuchikis don't like her very much since she is not a Kuchiki by blood, thus maybe that's why Ginrei and Byakuya sent her off to US, away from her own so-called family, at such a young age to protect her." Yoruichi sighs and takes out a cigarette. "Well, yeah, you know how the noble families are - always in dispute about money, corporate shares, and inheritances." The dark skinned noblewoman rolls her eyes, all too familiar with the misfortune sides of being in old noble families. "But Rukia has no interest in that apparently - doesn't care that she has the least percentage of share in the big corporate family business, her place in the company is managed by her friend." Yoruichi smirks a little bit. "She owns her own bakery, cafes, and food franchises, even some pet shops, but spends most of her time and money for charity."

Isshin raises an eyebrow and can't hold his grin. He is happy to hear that his son meets someone good and kind. "She is one of a kind, I assume?" The senior pediatrician pauses and eyes his friends, his posture serious. "Do the Kuchikis give my son any troubles at all?"

Kisuke and Yoruchi laugh. "Nothing that our godson can't handle. Even though, surely, dating his boss' little sister has its own consequences." The purple haired woman winks teasingly.

Isshin lets out a relief chuckle. "I guess Byakuya Kuchiki won't make it easy," the black haired man swipes the photo to the left and sees another capture of his son and his girlfriend. The two were still talking outside the cafe, this time Rukia seemed to be explaining something with her hands, her face serious but innocent at the same time. Ichigo was seen listening to his girlfriend with a kind of amused face and a smirk, his toned arms crossed. Isshin can't help but thinking his soon to be daughter in law with those round, captivating eyes is, indeed, one of the most beautiful women he knows in real life. She seems intelligent, classy, elegant, but really adorable at the same time.

"No. With Byakuya-boo, even the term difficult is an understatement." Yoruichi rolls her eyes. "I heard Ginrei is surprisingly supportive, that he calls Ichigo his grandson already."

Isshin lets out another puff of smoke, both his eyebrows raises to his hairline. "Really? I guess the Kuchikis don't know about Ichigo's relation to the Shibas, yet?" He asks, his tone turns serious.

Kisuke hums. "I think he knows and probably likes Ichigo-kun more because of it." At the confused look his old friend sends his way, the golden haired man continues. "The Shiba and The Kuchiki are surprisingly being civil in the last couple of years."

Yoruichi nods in agreement. "You really cut ties with your distant relatives and never heard about the big merger Kaien did with The Kuchiki?"

Isshin takes a deep breath and shakes his head. "Nah, family business has never been my thing." The black haired man turns away, clearly uncomfortable to talk about his former family ties. "What about Masaki's relation to the Ishida?"

The purple haired woman exhales a long, worried sigh. "That's the problem, I think. I doubt they know about it. You know how Ishida and Kuchiki have bad bloods with each other."

"Yeah." Isshin puts out his cigarette and looks away to the window and lets out an exasperated sigh. "Well, we'll just have to see."

* * *

Ever since the death of his mother, Ichigo has grown cold and distant to him. What happened to him and his late mother forces Ichigo to act mature and tough since he was such a young child. Ichigo never lets Isshin help him, and he never opens up about his problems to his father. Growing as a teenager, he got into a lot of fights, but rarely did he let his doctor dad patch him up. Ichigo likes to keep things to himself and that includes his personal affairs with girls. That doesn't stop Isshin to tease and demand grandchildren to his son, though.

The black haired pediatrician is really glad to find out about this Rukia-chan. Even though, deeply he hopes to find it out right from his son, not from his godmother and godfather. Isshin is not getting younger and he really wants to hold grandchildren already. But since his son's break up with that girl (_what was her name again? Senna?_) back in college, Ichigo never introduced any girl to the family again. And Isshin is worried but he just can't help but to tease his son every time he has the chance. He keeps demanding grandchildren to Ichigo. Not that he can't wait, but seeing his son all riled up has always been an amusement to the old man. Well, deep down, Isshin always wants his son to meet someone whom he is going to be crazily in love with, someone that is going to warm his already cold heart since the passing of his late mother, someone warm that can get along well with Isshin and Karin and Yuzu, someone good and kind, someone who is going to love his son unconditionally and can make him happy. But, above all, someone who can make his son a better man. And Isshin waits, and waits, and waits until that person comes.

Isshin remembers clearly there was Inoue-chan in high school. The sweet girl was (_still is_) their neighbor who loved to (_still does_) cook and bake some cakes for the Kurosakis. Inoue-chan and Ichigo dated really briefly in high school and then they broke up. Ichigo never told him why but Isshin knew it had something to do Inoue-chan and another guy from high school.

Isshin knew from the very start that Inoue-chan wasn't the right one for his son. The doctor knew it very well since even before the two started dating, it was not a healthy relationship to begin with. And Isshin could think that because he had to patch his son up because the orange haired _highschooler_ got into nasty fights with this other guy in high school that wanted to take advantages of Inoue-chan at some high school party, because apparently (what he got from Tatsuki-chan) young, naive, Inoue-chan was convinced by the other girls that to gain Ichigo's attention on her was to come on and fool around with other guys (and _did_ she fool around with the wrong guys). Tatsuki-chan ended up asking Ichigo to save Inoue-chan and knowing his son and his hero complex, Isshin wasn't at all surprised to see his son coming home at 2 in the morning, held by the nice Sado-kun, with his face full of bruises and fresh cuts and apparently a broken nose for Inoue-chan's sake. Isshin knew very well just how much Ichigo got into fights but this one was really, really nasty and as a parent, as chill and laid back as he may be, Isshin was kind of angry.

While he can't blame Inoue-chan for that, she did play a silly part in that accident.

He stops being a fan of Inoue-chan ever since then.

When Ichigo finally went out with Inoue-chan, Isshin tried to show his support but all the while he knew (and hoped) that the two wouldn't end up as the end game. Inoue-chan was too soft on his son. Isshin knew since the death of his mother, Ichigo always acts cold and distant and he was pretty sure Ichigo was a shitty boyfriend but Inoue-chan never, ever challenged him, never contradicted his every word, she was just too permissive, and when Ichigo was being a _little shit_, Inoue-chan couldn't help to shape him into a better man, couldn't even bring him back to his feet when he was down.

Isshin always thought that Ichigo needed someone who wasn't afraid to knock some sense into him when he really needed it. Inoue-chan got along pretty well with the family. She baked cookies with Yuzu just like an older sister, but Isshin knew she couldn't really get close to Karin. Yuzu is generally nice to everyone, it isn't hard to win her heart over, but Karin is really skeptical and judgmental. And while the tomboy kept teasing her brother about he wouldn't bring any girls in the same level of beauty like Inoue-chan, Karin once told Isshin that she was actually glad that her brother ended things with Inoue-chan, saying that she didn't know how to get along with her (_she is just too nice, Dad, she is too... clingy? And I don't know, I just don't have anything in common with her?_) And the dark haired twin also told Isshin that she wished for stronger figure of a sister. And Isshin couldn't agree more.

Years after high school, Isshin knows Inoue-chan is still in love with her son. She still delivers cookies and cooks for the Kurosakis, probably in hope to cross path with Ichigo at the clinic. But Ichigo moves to Osaka since his pediatric residency, and Inoue-chan doesn't come with her cookies anymore.

In college, Isshin heard about the purple haired girl, but Ichigo only brought her to their family dinner once and it was a disaster. Karin hated her guts for reasons Isshin never really got to know and sweet Yuzu couldn't even get close to her. It was worse than the first one. Ichigo never opened up about the girl and not long after Isshin heard from Yuzu that the purple haired girl cheated on her brother. Isshin was glad that they broke up but also gutted that his son could get cheated on twice in his life and thought that story was beyond ridiculous.

So, Isshin waits. And waits. And waits for the best person for his son.

* * *

Fate works in a funny way, Isshin thinks. It must be a coincidence, or God just really likes to pull some strings.

It happens way back in June a year ago. It is a day before the annual Masaki's death anniversary. Isshin wants to meet his late wife a day before the whole family go together, because it has been so long since the last time he has a private moment just the two of them. Isshin occasionally goes on June 16 alone, tells his wife all stories and updates on their kids, and visits her again on June 17 together with Karin, Yuzu, and Ichigo.

This year, on June 16 Isshin meets someone unexpected.

From a far, Isshin sees a young lady dressed in a white summer dress and dark red flat shoes, her dark, shoulder length hair is topped by sand-brown summer hat, shadowing her pale face. The young lady is standing right in front of Masaki's grave. Isshin squints his eyes and walks closer, hopes to get a better view while maintaining his distance.

The older pediatrician can't mask his own surprise when he realizes it is Rukia-chan - the girl Kisuke and Yorucihi told him about just 3 to 4 months prior.

Isshin decides to stay behind and observe for a while. Rukia is holding white lilies (Masaki's favorite) in her hands, she carefully places the lilies on Masaki's grave stone and her hands clap to make a silent prayer. Isshin takes a step closer but Rukia is still obvious of his presence. Isshin does not know why but his heart flutters with some kind of pride and joy.

"Good afternoon, Kurosaki-san," the dark haired young woman speaks up politely after minutes of silence. It is the first time Isshin hears her voice after a really, really, long time and he is surprised to hear that the adorable Rukia has such a deep, feminine voice, but she speaks in such a low and soft voice, that Isshin is pretty sure he can't keep up if the wind blows hard enough. Rukia seems nervous and tucks her hair behind her ear. "My name is Rukia," she says again, clearly nervous about this whole thing and Isshin chuckles and thinks it is adorable. Rukia is basically talking to the thin air but she shows so much respect and manners.

"You probably don't know me and I hope me coming here isn't bothering you," she says and Isshin watches. "I brought you lilies. Actually, Ichigo said it was your favorite." Isshin can tell Rukia has relaxed a little. "We actually planned to visit you together today, but something came up at the hospital and Ichigo couldn't come, so I decided to go on my own." she lowers her voice, "I hope you don't mind."

"I don't know if Ichigo has ever told you about me, Kurosaki-san." Rukia says this softly and from the way she talks, Isshin gets the idea that she knows Ichigo still keeps his family in the dark of her presence in his life and Isshin suddenly comes up with an urge to smack his son for keeping their relationship a secret from the family. "But, Ichigo tells me a lot about you." she pauses. "You're all he keeps talking about, actually."

"Ichigo loves you. He loves you so much." Rukia tucks her hair behind her ear nervously again. "Ichigo tells me all the amazing stories about you... and I never really know a mother figure in my life, so his stories always make my heart warm. Anyway, I-" she opens her mouth to say something but closes it again.

"Ichigo always feels guilty about what happened back then 9 years ago. He said that, it didn't stop raining since the day you left." Isshin can hear the sadness and worry in her voice. "I care about him. A lot. And it pains me that someone like Ichigo had to go through that at the age of 9. It's like..." she takes a deep breath, "it's like I want to try everything in my power to make it stop. For him."

Rukia just stays still for a while and Isshin watches the wind blows and the golden afternoon sun ray also makes her appear more graceful and elegant. She stays like that for a while.

"I love him, Kurosaki-san."

Rukia confesses in such a low and soft voice and Isshin doesn't know why but her confession really warms his heart.

"I love him so much that it's beyond ridiculous." Rukia holds back a smile, "No offense, but, he really, really can be such a pain at times." Rukia lets out a soft laugh. "I mean, he is just so stubborn," she laughs again, "and really cocky," then, "and crazily over protective to the point he drives me crazy."

"And we keep having these dumb and pointless arguments, but I think that's what makes me love him even more."

Isshin wants to laugh, too. This is what he truly expects coming out from Ichigo's girlfriend.

Rukia stays silent again for a little while. "I don't even know where to begin..." she mumbles and fidgets on her feet.

"I wish I could meet you in person." she says, "and maybe you could share Ichigo's childhood stories and his embarrassing photos," Rukia laughs lightly. "I want to say that..." she pauses and takes a deep breath, "...there are a lot of things that I am grateful for but it will take me all day if I say them all,"

"But, above all, I want to thank you for raising a strong and kind man. He still has his moments, where it seems like things would drag him down, but he is always, always strong enough to get back on his feet. And I think it is is a good thing that he just won't take no for an answer, and that he doesn't know when to give up, and if he does, it is only to better himself, or it's the only choice he has left." Rukia speaks again, Isshin can hear the raising confidence in her voice. "And I know he looks scary from the outside, since he frowns a lot," Isshin smiles at that, "but he has such a pure heart. He always puts people before him. He loves his family and put his sisters and his father before anyone else. He is a perfect older brother that always takes care of his little sisters. I think you would be proud of him, Kurosaki-san."

Rukia stays still for a little while again and the summer afternoon breeze blows her hair. "I want to thank you for raising a respectful man." At that, Isshin feels pride in his heart. "For all the time we've been together, Ichigo is being nothing but respectful and loyal to me, Kurosaki-san. He can get mad and raise his voice a little, but he is always being respectful and considerate when we have our arguments. And he is also respectful towards my family - my brother, my sister, and my grandfather. Even though I haven't met your family properly, since Ichigo thinks he is not yet ready to introduce us, and I am trying to respect and understand his decision," then, "I have heard a lot about his dad and the twins, and I hope you don't mind to let me love them, just like he loves my family."

"Ichigo is a person who can make me laugh, and treat me well, and bring so much happiness into my life and I can't thank you enough for that..." Rukia says.

"From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you, Kurosaki-san, for all that you've sacrificed and gone through to raise such a keeper." Isshin doesn't know why but he wants to sob of happiness at that.

"I can't express how much I appreciate you, because you're the woman who made loving him possible." the raven haired woman bows politely.

"I am really sorry if this gets too long," she says again, "And I hope this is not too bold of me and I am sure it isn't easy to trust someone with your son's heart, but, having your blessing would mean the world to me." Rukia bows again and Isshin can hear the true sincerity in her voice and the way she talks. Isshin knows Rukia is talking to his late wife, but he is Ichigo's parent, too, and her confessions and gratitude also mean the world to Isshin. He decides that he really, really likes her in their first meeting, albeit Rukia hasn't properly met him.

"I hope, someday, I can be half of the person, mother, and friend that you are," she bows again and then, "Thank you." Rukia says and Isshin sees the way she wipes a little tear on her eyes. "Thank you for everything."

Isshin sees the raven haired young lady bows for one last time and finally leaves his late's wife grave, she remains obvious of his presence.

Isshin really wants to say hello. He wants to get to know this girl his son has been seeing, especially after seeing the amount of respect she displays towards his late wife. No girl has ever showed that kind of attitude towards Ichigo's mom and Rukia has successfully won his heart in their first encounter and he hasn't even talked to her yet. But, Isshin thinks, Ichigo must have a reason for not yet introduced her to the family, and Isshin wants to respect that. So, he will for that moment, no matter how much he wants to get to know Rukia and very possibly welcome her with open arms.

The black haired pediatrician walks closer to Masaki's grave and lights up his cigarette. He greets her warmly and says, "I like her. That Rukia-chan. What do you think, eh, Masaki?"

Since the moment he sees his (Isshin is almost sure she's worthy to be called this) soon-to-be daughter in law, Isshin can't hold his smile anymore.

* * *

God really likes to play His cards well. Isshin thinks that will be just it, his encounter with Kuchiki Rukia. But, it seems like God has another plan. Little droplets of rain start pouring on to his skin and when he looks up, the golden afternoon sky has turned grey. Isshin lights out and steps on his cigarette. It usually rains on June 17, but rarely does it rain on June 16. He bids his goodbye to Masaki and promises her to come back tomorrow with the kids.

Isshin looks for a shelter. There is that one temple in the graveyard where people sit and take a rest when it rains. From a far, Isshin sees a few people are already there to take shelter from the rain. No one expects it to rain in this perfectly sunny afternoon. That's when Isshin notices the raven haired young lady he met earlier is also standing there, probably waiting for it to stop raining. She doesn't bring an umbrella. Isshin thought she had left already.

While other people are busy with their phones, Rukia is feeding a stray cat with some milk she takes out from her purse.

Isshin walks closer to the temple and looks up to the sky. The rain is getting heavier and it seems like it will not stop pouring any time soon. The senior Kurosaki contemplates whether he should or should not approach his son's girlfriend, but as he gets closer to the temple, Rukia accidentally looks up from the stray cat and their eyes meet.

Isshin catches those huge, captivating blue almost purple eyes and Isshin is certain that Rukia recognizes him at that moment.

Isshin is sure it is not a recognition of their encounter in Shihouin Gala when she was only 5. There was no way a child could remember a stranger she met only once when she was five. Isshin doesn't know if Ichigo has told her already about him, but there is a recognition in her eyes in the way those huge orbs widen slightly at the sight of him. Ichigo must have showed her a picture of his family or something. Rukia seems nervous and Isshin can totally understand if she thinks this is awkward. She probably doesn't know if she should greet him or not since they are not properly introduced, yet, and since Ichigo is not yet opened up to his family about the girl he has been seeing, Rukia probably thinks her existence in Ichigo's life is still unknown in his family. It will be so awkward to introduce oneself as someone's girlfriend when that someone's family don't even know that they're in a relationship. And this is Ichigo's father of all people. Rukia has every reasons to be nervous and awkward.

So, Isshin understands and smiles a little when Rukia blushes and looks down on the ground to avoid another awkward eye contact. All the while, the older man wants to smack his son even more, what excuses do he have to not introduce this lovely girl he has been seeing to the family? From the way Rukia takes her time to go all the way alone to Ichigo's mom grave shows Isshin that the raven haired girl is serious about his son and thinks his family is important. Isshin scratches his chin and thinks he really needs to teach his son some lessons.

Isshin decides to approach Rukia to make the situation easier for her. The senior pediatrician coolly shoves his hands in his pants pocket and stands next to the raven haired young lady. Isshin watches as Rukia's back stiffens and he really wants to grin. She is just too adorable. Hearing her confession to Masaki earlier, Isshin just really can't wait to get to know her and welcome her to the family with open arms.

"It usually never rains on June 16." Isshin says and Rukia turns to him after she bows really slightly. Isshin gives her a smile. "It always rains on June 17, though."

Rukia's mouth gapes slightly to say something but she closes it again. She probably is still indecisive of should or should she not introduce herself.

"I..." she tries to reply, "This is my first time coming here," she tells him.

Isshin can't stop smiling and looks at the grey sky. "I come here every year." He pinches the bridge of his nose. The rain pours heavier than a few minutes ago. "It's beautiful, though. The scenery after the rain."

Rukia's lips quirk up slightly and looks down on the stray cat running in circle around her legs. "I think it is beautiful now when it rains."

Isshin feels Rukia has relaxed a little and maybe she decides she won't reveal her identity to him just yet and he understands. "I come for my late wife." he flashes Rukia another grin and the corner of Rukia's lips quirk up again. Isshin is mischievous by nature and he wants to tease her a little. "Visiting someone, eh?"

Rukia's eyes widen slightly and she nods. The doctor can see a faint blush on her cheeks.

"Care to enlighten?" Isshin grins widely and Rukia turns to him in confusion, her wide eyes finally lock with Isshin's darker ones and her pale face goes crimson like a tomato, in the way the violet in those giant orbs go darker, _Isshin knows that Rukia knows that he knows. _

She tucks her hair behind her ear and softly answers, "It's someone that... means a lot to someone who means a lot to me,"

Isshin lets out a warm chuckle, "I wonder who that might be," he continues to snicker, "someone like, the mother of your boyfriend, I assume?" he teases and when he sees Rukia's face goes even redder like all the blood in her body rushes up to her head, Isshin thinks teasing his soon-to-be daughter in law may be as fun as teasing his own son.

Rukia looks at him again and the way those giant violet-purple-blue something eyes become bigger than they already are makes Isshin (as crazy as it sounds) hope that his future grandchildren would inherent those eye-catching orbs. The raven haired young lady gapes a little, like she wants to say something, but closes her mouth again, she opens it again but, still no words come out. They both know that they're both aware of each other identities, but Rukia is still too shy to let the truth out. Isshin is right. Teasing her is as fun as teasing his son.

Rukia shyly nods and turns away, clearly still unsure of what she has to say, a ghost of sincere smile is seen on her pretty face.

Rukia is saved by the stray cat that starts meow-ing and scratching her feet. She bends and finally picks up the stray cat and holds it in her arms. She starts mumbling things like, "here, here, kitty," to the cat. She is just so cute without trying and to think that Ichigo, his son, who acts tough like a_ freaking gangster_ actually has a girlfriend this tiny and this adorable like a doll made of porcelain, really makes Isshin want to laugh.

The senior Kurosaki nonchalantly scratches his chin and says, "ah, already someone's girlfriend, then." he sighs dramatically, "it's a shame. I was just thinking to introduce you to my son,"

Rukia looks at him and those giant orbs glint in amusement. Her smile encourages Isshin to continue teasing her, "If I say that my son is as handsome as I am, would you leave your boyfriend for him?"

That successfully brings out a giggle from Rukia and Isshin can't be happier. He really enjoys this time and wish the rain won't stop any time sooner. Rukia keeps playing with the stray cat in her arms and she smiles while she asks, "Does your son frown a lot like a grumpy old man?" Isshin laughs in reply and she continues to play along, "because my boyfriend, does, you know, frown a lot and it's kind of annoying." she adds a dramatic sigh in return, then, "may as well leave him for a friendlier, fine looking, young man."

At that, Isshin decides he does not only like Rukia Kuchiki. He loves her and possibly becomes a huge fan of her and the number one shipper of her with his son. If Ichigo ever, ever lets this girl go, Isshin will make sure to disown his son out of disappointment and heart break.

Isshin snickers again. He whines dramatically, "Oh, God, no way! It is another shame." His black eyebrows turn into a deep V and the corner of his mouths form a deep frown, "my son looks like this all the time."

That elicits another giggle from Rukia.

"My son looks scary from the outside, but he is an embarrassingly huge dork inside." Isshin says again and winks. "You'll love him."

"Is he a romantic? Because mine is helpless." Rukia jokes back.

Isshin nods and grins, "He can quote Shakespeare."

At that Rukia laughs. "Alright, sir, I am sold." she bows like a performer to her audiences.

Then Rukia's phone in her red purse rings, she lets go of the stray kitten in her arms and busily rummages her purse. She reads the caller id and her eyes flick back to Isshin for a couple of seconds. Isshin has a pretty good guess of who is calling.

Rukia mouths something like _'I'm sorry, I have to take this'_ and Isshin nods at her. "Hey," Rukia says in a whisper, "I told you I am stuck in the rain," she sighs and, "yes I did," then, "yes, I did," she repeats, "no, read the text before the cat video."

Isshin chuckles.

"You don't have to pick me up," she rolls her eyes, "Hanatarou is already on the way here, don't worry," then, "I'll call you later," then she whispers, "okay, take care."

Isshin raises his eyebrow and smirks, "The boyfriend?"

Rukia blushes and Isshin snickers. "What kind of shitty boyfriend leaves his girlfriend all alone in the rain?"

She laughs in return and pretends to think it over. "Yes, well," she hums, "Should I just leave him for your son?"

Isshin truly laughs hard at that.

The rain starts pouring less and the sky is not so dark anymore. Isshin is quite sad that his fine afternoon with his so claimed third daughter is coming to an end. Rukia looks up to the sky, too, and realizes maybe this is her time to go.

Rukia looks at him again and their eyes meet. Isshin can see the amount of respect in sincerity in those orbs and he feels proud that Ichigo has found himself a good partner and lover. Isshin gives her his most genuine smile, in hope that she gets the idea of how much he wants to welcome her to his family. And just like what she said to Masaki earlier, Isshin wants her to know that she is allowed to love Ichigo's family as her own.

"I think it's time for me to go," Rukia says softly.

Isshin nods at her. "Don't dump your boyfriend, okay." _Please, take care of my son._

Rukia smiles and nods. "I..." she opens her mouth to say something but closes it again before she bows at him, "Thank you." she says, "thank you for everything." _Thank you for letting me love your son._

Rukia says it with so much gratitude and sincerity and Isshin is really touched. Isshin waves his hand at her, genuinely sad that this is their goodbye for the moment.

Isshin keeps waving at her, "Take care," he says as she takes some steps back from the temple, "You're a good kid."

Rukia nods, smiles, gives him another bow, and waves back, she smiles at him before she turns on her heels. Isshin keeps staring at he retreating form and after a few little steps Rukia turns around and says, "Can you please deliver a hello from me to your son?"

Isshin laughs again. God, he really likes her and her banter. "Should I deliver it with some kisses and cherries on top?" he teases.

Rukia snickers and nods in approval, "Please. And a teddy bear hug, too."

"Then, tell your boyfriend I say hello." Isshin replies, "And my hello includes some punches and smacks on the head."

They both laugh and Rukia nods at him to say her final goodbye.

This is it.

They're going to meet again. Isshin is pretty _damn_ sure.

And he really can't wait for it.

* * *

A/N: I love the idea that Isshin loves Rukia as his daughter XD

And I really hope it is not too weird and you all like it! Anyway this is part 1 since I have another part of Isshin in which Ichigo confesses to his dad that he is seeing Rukia haha. I will probably write that in part 2. Should I continue with other characters? And who do you think should I write next? :D Tell me in the reviews :D


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